Spirulina
Nutrition of the future for the city of the future The whole process of assimilation which weighs you down - this occupies so much of a person's time and energy - that should be done beforehand, and then one should be given something which is immediately assimilable, like what they are doing now with vitamin pills and proteins which can be assimilated directly, nutrition basics which are found in one thing or another and which are not bulky.
The Spirulina farm in Simplicity has 7 separate ponds for cultivation, where the culture is stirred by hand.
Since 1997, Simplicity's Spirulina farm is growing spirulina for Auroville consumption, and also for sale outside. Hendrik (from the Netherlands) who presently runs the farm, recently published the following in Auroville's internal newsletter:
What is spirulina?
Spirulina, commonly referred to as 'spi', is a tiny, one cell algae. It is believed to have been the first form of plant life on earth. Originally it was found in alkaline lakes in Mexico and Africa, but has also been found in India. In the Auroville settlement 'Simplicity' we grow a variety found in Lake Lonar in Maharashtra.
Simplicity's Spirulina Farm is situated near the sea, though this is not specifically necessary for spi farming, as we don't use sea water at all. Since its re-discovery in the 1960s, spi has been exhaustively and extensively tested by scientists around the world, and is found to be the most powerful and well-balanced source of nutrition available on the planet. Under the microscope, this micro-organism has the form of a spiral, which explains its name. Its scientific name is Arthrospira.
Auroville and spirulina
Already in the 1970s, Aurovilians Bob and Deborah Lawlor started a small scale algae farm in Auroville's Success community with a mixture of green algae, mostly chlorella and scenedesmus. In their attempts at growing spi, they found that after a few weeks indigenous varieties of the chlorella species outgrew and replaced the original strain of spi. Although their project was very basic and operated with simple means, it was one of the first experimental spi farms worldwide, and even now is considered to have been of great value. So much so, that it is mentioned in the books written by Ripley D. Fox (the spi guru for the last three decades).
Another Aurovilian, old-timer Jim De Vries, was experimenting with chlorella farming at La Ferme around 1978. Jim used to pump the water with chlorella onto the rooftops of the buildings around the ponds (where the Auroville Cheese unit is located nowadays). Bonaventura
In the beginning of the 1990s, the late Bonaventura Chanson founded Simplicity with the vision of starting a spi farm there. He collected a lot of info about spi and did various laboratory scale experiments pertaining to spi production. Bonaventure also introduced spi for consumption within the community, initially taking supply from a spi farm near Chennai. After Bonaventura left us (Nov.1996), we decided to realise this vision of his, and started the farm with a Rs 2 lakhs interest-free loan given to the project by the Auroville Health Centre. As of today, we have seven ponds of 30 m2 each, and in 1999 alone were able to harvest 500 kgs of spi.
Why spirulina in Auroville?
As already mentioned, spi appears to be the ultimate source of nutrition available to mankind today. NASA found it to be an excellent, compact space food for astronauts, and have said: "1kg of spi is equivalent to 1,000kgs of assorted vegetables".
To produce 1 kg of spi we need very little water (the only significant loss is through evaporation) and we can even use brackish or alkaline water, unsuitable for agriculture. Growing spi also requires very little surface area of land, with the further advantage that the land can be marginal, unusable and non-fertile. What spi does need, however, is sun and heat! Spi protein uses 1/3 the water of soybeans and only 1/50th the water needed for beef protein. Spi protein needs 20 times less land than soybeans and 200 times less than is required for beef production. Spi can help in the struggle with global warming as it fixes carbon and produces oxygen.
At the farm we don't use TNEB electricity for the production; we use only solar pumps for the water supply. With last year's production we were able to supply 1,370 people with their daily basic intake of 1 gram of spi. Even if Auroville is going to grow hugely in number of habitants , there will be no problem at all in producing enough spi within the community to supply this "nutrient rich super food" on a daily basis for all, plus enough to meet the needs of the bio-region.
When looking at current community consumption patterns, it appears that many Aurovilians are becoming more aware of their food intake, and hence of the value of spi.
Health benefits
Perhaps the best feature of spi is that its nutrients are very well assimilated by the body, since IT contains no cellulose in its cell walls. Spi is a low fat, low calorie, cholesterol-free source of protein containing all the essential amino acids. It helps combat problems like diabetes, anemia and atmospheric pollution. It also helps combat 'free radicals' which can lead to ailments like cancer, arthritis, cataracts. Moreover, the gama linolic acid (GLA) present in spi dissolves fat deposits, helps prevent heart problems and reduces 'bad cholesterol'. As if this wasn't enough, the National Cancer Institute, USA, has additionally announced that sulfolipids in spi are remarkably active against the AIDS virus. Regular intake of spi increases anti-viral activity, stimulates the immune system, reduces kidney toxicity, improves wound healing and reduces radiation sickness.
How to take spirulina
The recommended daily intake is 1-3 grams of spi, but if you feel like consuming more, go ahead, as there is no risk of overdose. Add spi to your lunch, dinner, curds or salad, whatever you feel like, only avoid cooking it, as a lot of nutrients (esp. vitamins) get lost that way. Special tip: make a fresh lemon juice (or use lemon syrup), add a teaspoon of spi, stir well and drink it straight away. The vitamin C of the lemon (spi doesn't contain vitamin C) will help to absorb the nutrients. Spirulina also comes in (vegetarian) capsules.
Nutrition of the future for the city of the future The whole process of assimilation which weighs you down - this occupies so much of a person's time and energy - that should be done beforehand, and then one should be given something which is immediately assimilable, like what they are doing now with vitamin pills and proteins which can be assimilated directly, nutrition basics which are found in one thing or another and which are not bulky.
The Spirulina farm in Simplicity has 7 separate ponds for cultivation, where the culture is stirred by hand.
Since 1997, Simplicity's Spirulina farm is growing spirulina for Auroville consumption, and also for sale outside. Hendrik (from the Netherlands) who presently runs the farm, recently published the following in Auroville's internal newsletter:
What is spirulina?
Spirulina, commonly referred to as 'spi', is a tiny, one cell algae. It is believed to have been the first form of plant life on earth. Originally it was found in alkaline lakes in Mexico and Africa, but has also been found in India. In the Auroville settlement 'Simplicity' we grow a variety found in Lake Lonar in Maharashtra.
Simplicity's Spirulina Farm is situated near the sea, though this is not specifically necessary for spi farming, as we don't use sea water at all. Since its re-discovery in the 1960s, spi has been exhaustively and extensively tested by scientists around the world, and is found to be the most powerful and well-balanced source of nutrition available on the planet. Under the microscope, this micro-organism has the form of a spiral, which explains its name. Its scientific name is Arthrospira.
Auroville and spirulina
Already in the 1970s, Aurovilians Bob and Deborah Lawlor started a small scale algae farm in Auroville's Success community with a mixture of green algae, mostly chlorella and scenedesmus. In their attempts at growing spi, they found that after a few weeks indigenous varieties of the chlorella species outgrew and replaced the original strain of spi. Although their project was very basic and operated with simple means, it was one of the first experimental spi farms worldwide, and even now is considered to have been of great value. So much so, that it is mentioned in the books written by Ripley D. Fox (the spi guru for the last three decades).
Another Aurovilian, old-timer Jim De Vries, was experimenting with chlorella farming at La Ferme around 1978. Jim used to pump the water with chlorella onto the rooftops of the buildings around the ponds (where the Auroville Cheese unit is located nowadays). Bonaventura
In the beginning of the 1990s, the late Bonaventura Chanson founded Simplicity with the vision of starting a spi farm there. He collected a lot of info about spi and did various laboratory scale experiments pertaining to spi production. Bonaventure also introduced spi for consumption within the community, initially taking supply from a spi farm near Chennai. After Bonaventura left us (Nov.1996), we decided to realise this vision of his, and started the farm with a Rs 2 lakhs interest-free loan given to the project by the Auroville Health Centre. As of today, we have seven ponds of 30 m2 each, and in 1999 alone were able to harvest 500 kgs of spi.
Why spirulina in Auroville?
As already mentioned, spi appears to be the ultimate source of nutrition available to mankind today. NASA found it to be an excellent, compact space food for astronauts, and have said: "1kg of spi is equivalent to 1,000kgs of assorted vegetables".
To produce 1 kg of spi we need very little water (the only significant loss is through evaporation) and we can even use brackish or alkaline water, unsuitable for agriculture. Growing spi also requires very little surface area of land, with the further advantage that the land can be marginal, unusable and non-fertile. What spi does need, however, is sun and heat! Spi protein uses 1/3 the water of soybeans and only 1/50th the water needed for beef protein. Spi protein needs 20 times less land than soybeans and 200 times less than is required for beef production. Spi can help in the struggle with global warming as it fixes carbon and produces oxygen.
At the farm we don't use TNEB electricity for the production; we use only solar pumps for the water supply. With last year's production we were able to supply 1,370 people with their daily basic intake of 1 gram of spi. Even if Auroville is going to grow hugely in number of habitants , there will be no problem at all in producing enough spi within the community to supply this "nutrient rich super food" on a daily basis for all, plus enough to meet the needs of the bio-region.
When looking at current community consumption patterns, it appears that many Aurovilians are becoming more aware of their food intake, and hence of the value of spi.
Health benefits
Perhaps the best feature of spi is that its nutrients are very well assimilated by the body, since IT contains no cellulose in its cell walls. Spi is a low fat, low calorie, cholesterol-free source of protein containing all the essential amino acids. It helps combat problems like diabetes, anemia and atmospheric pollution. It also helps combat 'free radicals' which can lead to ailments like cancer, arthritis, cataracts. Moreover, the gama linolic acid (GLA) present in spi dissolves fat deposits, helps prevent heart problems and reduces 'bad cholesterol'. As if this wasn't enough, the National Cancer Institute, USA, has additionally announced that sulfolipids in spi are remarkably active against the AIDS virus. Regular intake of spi increases anti-viral activity, stimulates the immune system, reduces kidney toxicity, improves wound healing and reduces radiation sickness.
How to take spirulina
The recommended daily intake is 1-3 grams of spi, but if you feel like consuming more, go ahead, as there is no risk of overdose. Add spi to your lunch, dinner, curds or salad, whatever you feel like, only avoid cooking it, as a lot of nutrients (esp. vitamins) get lost that way. Special tip: make a fresh lemon juice (or use lemon syrup), add a teaspoon of spi, stir well and drink it straight away. The vitamin C of the lemon (spi doesn't contain vitamin C) will help to absorb the nutrients. Spirulina also comes in (vegetarian) capsules.